Climate Law & Governance (PBL5046S)

The phenomenon of climate change poses major challenges to the international community of nations, the African continent, and the South African body politic. Meeting these challenges requires among other things an inter-disciplinary approach and finding interconnectedness between the natural and social sciences. This course will provide postgraduate students with an insight into principles of international law, regional law and South African national law of relevance to climate change. Key content covered in the course includes: an introduction to basic international and domestic legal principles and institutions; environmental governance systems and theories; and an introduction to various branches of the law relevant to climate change such as energy law, planning and environmental impact assessment law; natural resource law (biodiversity, protected areas, water and marine living resources), pollution laws (marine, fresh water, land and air pollution) and fiscal law (in the context of climate financing).